Participation, Not Paternalism: Moral Education, Normative Competence and the Child's Entry into the Moral Community

Autor/in	An, Christopher Joseph
Titel	Participation, Not Paternalism: Moral Education, Normative Competence and the Child's Entry into the Moral Community
Quelle	In: Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52 (2020) 2, S.192-205 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (An, Christopher Joseph)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0013-1857
DOI	10.1080/00131857.2019.1619547
Schlagwörter	Moral Values; Moral Development; Educational Philosophy; Children; Adults; Comparative Analysis; Teaching Methods; Standards; Developmental Stages; Child Development; Context Effect; Executive Function; Interpersonal Relationship + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Moral value; Ethischer Wert; Moralische Entwicklung; Bildungsphilosophie; Erziehungsphilosophie; Child; Kind; Kinder; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Standard; Kindesentwicklung; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung
Abstract	Compared with children, adults are widely assumed to possess more mature moral understanding thus justifying deference to their moral authority and testimony. This paper examines philosophical discussions regarding this child-adult moral relation and its implications for moral education, particularly accounts suggesting that the moral status of children constitute grounds for treating them paternalistically. I contend that descriptions and justifications of this paternalistic attitude towards children are either unacceptably crude or mistaken. While certain instances justify paternalistic treatment towards children, in the context of moral education the paternalistic attitude is largely irrelevant and even counterproductive. I make a case that children can readily meet minimal standards for moral understanding and engagement. Even when children have no final say, there is still a significant normative difference between deferring paternalistically to the adult's moral testimony and interacting with the child in moral conversation. These considered, I defend a social-contextualist account of moral education that incorporates a participatory (over a paternalistic) pedagogical attitude. Further, instead of portraying moral education in terms of stages (as argued by Kohlberg), moral education should be characterized more as a gradual appreciation of and sensitivity to normative demands that apply in various shared contexts and spheres of human concern. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01